Categories: Miscellaneous

Remember when it was all the rage to have an app on your phone that would tell you which stores were having sales as you walked through the mall? Some even gave digital coupons that were good for only a very limited time. This is old news on hand-held devices, but BMW is trying out the concept in its vehicles, obviously on a much larger scale.

The Detroit Auto Show held earlier this month abounded with cars sporting the latest in technological applications. A popular trend among manufacturers appears to be carbon fiber used in the body of their vehicles. Previously this sort of thing would be reserved for race cars or high-end luxury cars due to the expense of producing and using the material. What we commonly call “carbon fiber” is actually carbon fiber reinforced polymer. It attracts manufacturers because it is five times stronger than steel and weighs two-thirds less. This means that, if a typical automobile is made of carbon fiber instead of steel, the mass weight will drop by 60% and use 30% less gas—and lower emissions from 10% to 20%.

Another drawback of carbon fiber was the time it takes to mold during production, about five minutes to mold a frame. A few years ago a Japanese company discovered that if a special thermoplastic resin was mixed with the carbon fiber the time could be reduced to less than 60 seconds. This could be part of the reason for the sudden use in newer cars.

Tiny cars are great on gas consumption, perfect for crowded cities, and the light weight is necessary for electric power. One place they fall short, so to speak, is in safety ratings, specifically in crash tests. This year saw a 70% drop in the makes and models chosen as top safety picks by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

There is a wide range of options for car manufacturers to make their vehicles greener. Most of the research is obviously geared toward electric power instead of gasoline, but there are less obvious changes that can be made to a car’s interior which is also beneficial to the planet. BMW leads the way toward a greener future.

Tesla’s on fire again! And not in the positive way. Poor Tesla. Almost on the heels of Model S engine fires and then a fire at a factory, Tesla is now recalling 29,222 vehicle chargers for the 2013 Model S because they may overheat and catch fire.

When you think of “sinister”-looking vehicles, does a Dodge Dart cross your mind? No? Not surprising; but the 2014 Dart SXT Blacktop is being described using that very word by its maker. It will be shown at the Detroit Auto Show next week and will be available at dealerships in the spring.

I’m all for technology. We live in an age when cool new gadgets appear almost daily. Everything from our home appliances to our vehicles are connected with each other, can be controlled from almost anywhere, and most of them will respond to voice commands. The theory is that all this technology makes life easier and, in the case of driving, safer. But does it really solve the problem?

Did you ever watch the TV show Eureka on Syfy? If you didn’t you missed a fun geeky show and you might want to pick it up on Netflix. One of the characters in the show was a house named SARAH (Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat). She could do all the things your current security system does along with lots of other things, including having conversations and occasionally throwing fits. She was entirely voice-activated and knew all inhabitants and visitors through advanced voice recognition. At one point, she was put into a car (not the house, just the operating system) and she began to suggest places to go since she had never had the ability to “go” before.

Here in the States most of us take the ability to buy and drive a vehicle for granted. Having transportation is essential and even if you drive an old clunker you have to have a way to get around. We complain that we don’t have enough money to buy the car of our dreams and we settle for something dependable, but most of us have a car of some kind. Take a look in your driveway and be thankful for whatever is there. You could live in Cuba.

With gas prices ever on the rise, new car buyers are more and more aware of how far they can go on a tank full of the precious liquid. If you’ve been interested in switching to a diesel-powered vehicle, Volkswagen has just made it easy for you. The car maker already produces the cheapest and smallest diesel sedan on the market in the United States, but it will slash the price of the 2014 Jetta TDI Value Edition by an additional $2,000, making it possible to own one for $22,115.